Stories of
American Heroes -
Brought to you from the "Home of Heroes" - Pueblo, Colorado

Henry Nehemiah Nickerson

TAPS

Fading light dims the sight,
And a star gems the sky,
Gleaming bright.
From afar drawing nigh,
Falls the night.

Day is done, gone the sun,
From the lake, From the hills,
From the sky.
All is well, safely rest,
God is nigh.

Then good night, Peaceful night,
Till the light of the dawn
Shineth bright,
God is near, do not fear,
Friend, good night.

Greenwood Cemetery

Born:December 02, 1888 at
Edgewood, WV

Entered
Service in the US Navy from West Virginia

Earned The Medal of Honor During the Mexican Campaign For
heroism April 21, 1914 at Vera Cruz, Mexico

Died:May
02, 1979 at the age of 90

In an effort
to force out General Victoriano Huerta, who had seized the
presidency of Mexico in a bloody coup d' etat, President Woodrow
Wilson sent three Navy vessels to Vera Cruz under the command of
Rear Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher. On the morning of April 21
nearly 1,500 American combat troops were put ashore, and that
night another 1,500 reinforcements landed. By noon on April 22nd
the American forces had taken control of the city. In the two
day action Fletcher lost 17 men killed, 63 wounded. The Mexicans
had nearly 800 dead or wounded. Boatswain's Mate Second Class
Henry Nickerson of the U.S.S. Utah was one of 55 men awarded the
Medal of Honor for "extraordinary heroism in the line of
his profession during the seizure of Vera Cruz."
Though the United States occupied Vera Cruz for seven months
following the initial landing, the men who landed at Vera Cruz
on April 21 - 22 accomplished their mission in two days, and
returned to their vessels within the same week.